Paralympic Coach of the Year

Aug 23 2024

Congratulations and good luck to coach Ellen Minzner '84^SM at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games!

Ellen was named the 2023 Paralympic Coach of the Year by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

She served as Para US National Rowing Coach from 2013 - 2018 and was elevated to the U.S. Rowing's Paralympic High Performance Director in 2019.

About Ellen Minzner '84^SM

After graduating from St. Mary High School in 1984, Ellen attended Villanova University, where she began her rowing career during her sophomore year.

Ellen became a member of the national rowing team and won gold in the lightweight double at the World Rowing Championships in 1995 in Finland and in 1996 in Scotland.

She discovered a passion for coaching athletes with disabilities and first participated in the Paralympics in Rio in September 2016.

Throughout her life, Ellen has remained an active part of the Lawrence (and rowing) communities.

She served as the executive director of the Greater Lawrence Community Boating Program and founder of both the Greater Lawrence Rowing Club and the Lawrence Celebration Regatta.

She also served as the outreach director and director of inclusion and advocacy for Community Rowing Boston (CRI), a non-profit organization with a mission of "Rowing for All," and as the director of the Row Boston, Adaptive Rowing, and Veterans Rowing programs.

Ellen has served as the Announcing Committee Co-Chair for the Head of the Charles Regatta since 2003 and as a Board Member for the Lawrence History Center since 2010.